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Dementia Caregiving

The use of psychological network analysis in informal dementia care: an empirical illustration

ORCID Icon, ORCID Icon & ORCID Icon
Pages 1780-1789 | Received 05 Jun 2022, Accepted 23 Sep 2022, Published online: 25 Oct 2022
 

Abstract

Objective: Theoretical models in informal dementia care have been developed to understand how risk and protective factors interact to cause caregiver’s distress. The development of psychological network analysis provides a rich complement to our current models, as explores how different variables (or nodes) are associated using graph theories. Methods: The present study explored the use of network analysis using data from 125 informal caregivers of their partner with dementia (PwD). The included variables were recipient’s dependency, self-efficacy, conflict within the family, dyadic adjustment, and caregiver’s distress. Results: The analysis suggests a complex network of interacting variables. The core variable was not the caregiver’s distress but rather their dyadic adjustment with their PwD. Variables were associated with caregiver distress through a large array of direct and indirect pathways and were associated with each other in the form of an asymmetric spider’s web.Conclusion: The results show the complex interplay of variables in a psychological network. The central role of distress suggests a complex and dynamic role, notably through a bidirectional influence with quality of interactions. In the same way, quality of interactions appeared as one of the strongest nodes, its connectivity suggesting a crucial role to consider in our models and interventions.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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